To blindfold trespassers would be a huge psychological dominance; and being unable to see not only forbids awareness of all their surroundings... something as simple and not being able to take one step after another with assurance would be another fear factor. Completely vulnerable and disoriented.

January 17, 3019 (S.R. 1419) 1. The Company arrives at Caras Galadon in the evening. (from the appendices)..."That night the Company slept upon the ground, much to the satisfaction of the hobbits. The Elves spread... ...a pavilion among the trees near the fountain, and in it they laid soft couches; then speaking words of peace with fair elvish voices they left them. For a little while the travellers talked of their night before in the tree-tops, and of their day's journey, and of the Lord and Lady; for they had not yet the heart to look further back. ...'What did you blush for, Sam?' said Pippin. 'You soon broke down. Anyone would have thought you had a guilty conscience. I hope it was nothing worse than a wicked plot to steal one of my blankets.' ...'I never thought no such thing,' answered Sam, in no mood for jest. 'If you want to know, I felt as if I hadn't got nothing on, and I didn't like it. She seemed to be looking inside me and asking me what I would do if she gave me the chance of flying back home to the Shire to a nice little hole with—with a bit of garden of my own.' ...'That's funny,' said Merry. 'Almost exactly what I felt... ...only well, I don't think I'll say any more,' he ended lamely. ...All of them, it seemed, had fared alike: each had felt that he was offered a choice between a shadow full of fear that lay ahead, and something that he greatly desired... ...and to get it he had only to turn aside from the road and leave the Quest and the war against Sauron to others.... ...'...To me it seemed exceedingly strange,' said Boromir. 'Maybe it was only a test, and she thought to read our thoughts for her own good purpose... ...I should have said that she was tempting us, and offering what she pretended to have the power to give. It need not be said that I refused to listen. The Men of Minas Tirith are true to their word.' But what he thought that the Lady had offered him Boromir did not tell. ...And as for Frodo, he would not speak, though Boromir pressed him with questions. 'She held you long in her gaze, Ring-bearer,' he said. ...'Yes... ...but whatever came into my mind then I will keep there.' ...'Well, have a care!' said Boromir. 'I do not feel too sure of this Elvish Lady and her purposes.' ...'Speak no evil of the Lady Galadriel!' said Aragorn sternly. 'You know not what you say. There is in her and in this land no evil, unless a man bring it hither himself... ...But tonight I shall sleep without fear for the first time since I left Rivendell. And may I sleep deep, and forget for a while my grief! I am weary in body and in heart.' He cast himself down upon his couch and fell at once into a long sleep. ...They remained some days in Lothlórien, so far as they could tell or remember."

And while I'm not anti-Lorien, I guess it bugs me, because I identify with the people in the Fellowship, and it seems like a needless imposition.

I used to travel to Canada a lot for work, and I remember about 8-10 years ago that mobile phones were banned while standing in line for Customs "for our safety." They eventually withdrew the ban because you can't confiscate the phones of 1000's of travelers glued to their screens, and we are just as safe now as before. I suppose I grate against arbitrary institutional rules like these. Though in Tolkien's defense, it wasn't meant to be an enlightened rule.

...'...To me it seemed exceedingly strange,' said Boromir. 'Maybe it was only a test, and she thought to read our thoughts for her own good purpose... ...I should have said that she was tempting us, and offering what she pretended to have the power to give. It need not be said that I refused to listen. The Men of Minas Tirith are true to their word.' But what he thought that the Lady had offered him Boromir did not tell.

And Tolkien being a good Catholic, he would have known the story of Satan tempting Jesus:

Quote

Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “If You bow down and worship me,” he said, “I will give You all of this.” Jesus said to him, “Get away from Me, Satan! It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God. He is the only One you should serve.’ ” - Matthew 4:8-10

Of course, it's not all at face value, and I think Galadriel's real reasoning was that the Ring would likely tempt them all sooner or later if it hadn't already, so better to give them temptation resistance training against it. But none of them feels like they came off the better for it.

Here is 1 of 4 Book Spoilers that takes a look at what the Fellowship did after crossing Nimrodel and before reaching Caras Galadon... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.

From Lothlórien: The Fellowship of the Ring

..."The Company now turned aside from the path, and went into the shadow of the deeper woods... ...Not far from the falls of Nimrodel they found a cluster of trees...... '...I will climb up,' said Legolas. 'I am at home among trees, by root or bough, though these trees are of a kind strange to me, save as a name in song. Mellyrn they are called... ...but I have never climbed in one. I will see now what is their shape and way of growth....'... '...said Pippin, 'they will be marvellous trees indeed if they can offer any rest at night, except to birds. I cannot sleep on a perch!'... 'Then dig a hole in the ground,' said Legolas, 'if that is more after the fashion of your kind. But you must dig swift and deep, if you wish to hide from Orcs.' He sprang lightly up from the ground and caught a branch that grew from the trunk high above his head... ...even as he swung there for a moment, a voice spoke suddenly from the tree-shadows above him.... 'Daro!' it said in commanding tone, and Legolas dropped back to earth in surprise and fear. He shrank against the bole of the tree.... 'Stand still!' he whispered to the others. 'Do not move or speak!'... There was a sound of soft laughter over their heads and then another clear voice spoke in an elven-tongue... ...the speech that the Silvan folk east of the mountains used among themselves... ...unlike that of the West. Legolas looked up and answered in the same language.... 'Who are they, and what do they say?' asked Merry.... 'They're Elves,' said Sam. 'Can't you hear their voices?'...'Yes, they are Elves,' said Legolas; 'and they say that you breathe so loud that they could shoot you in the dark.' Sam hastily put his hand over his mouth... '...they say also that you need have no fear. They have been aware of us for a long while. They heard my voice across the Nimrodel, and knew that I was one of their Northern kindred... ...and afterwards they heard my song. Now they bid me climb up with Frodo; for they seem to have had some tidings of him and of our journey. The others they ask to wait ... ...to keep watch at the foot of the tree, until they have decided what is to be done.'... Out of the shadows a ladder was let down: it was made of rope, silver-grey and glimmering in the dark, and though it looked slender it proved strong... ...Legolas ran lightly up, and Frodo followed slowly; behind came Sam trying not to breathe loudly. The branches of the mallorn-tree grew out nearly straight from the trunk, and then swept upward... ...among these they found that there had been built a wooden platform, or flet... ...the Elves called it a talan. It was reached by a round hole in the centre through which the ladder passed.... When Frodo came... ...on to the flet he found Legolas seated with three other Elves... ...clad in shadowy-grey, and could not be seen among the tree-stems, unless they moved suddenly... ...one of them uncovered a small lamp that gave out a slender silver beam. He held it up, looking at Frodo's face, and Sam's. Then he shut off the light again, and spoke words of welcome in his elven-tongue. Frodo spoke haltingly in return.... 'Welcome!' the Elf then said again in the Common Language, speaking slowly. 'We seldom use any tongue but our own; for we dwell now in the heart of the forest, and do not willingly have dealings with any other folk... ...But there are some of us still who go abroad for the gathering of news and the watching of our enemies, and they speak the languages of other lands. I am one. Haldir is my name. My brothers, Rúmil and Orophin, speak little of your tongue.... 'But we have heard rumours of your coming, for the messengers of Elrond passed by Lórien... ...We had not heard of—hobbits, of halflings, for many a long year, and did not know that any yet dwelt in Middle-earth. You do not look evil! And since you come with an Elf of our kindred, we are willing to befriend you, as Elrond asked; though it is not our custom to lead strangers through our land."

Here is part 2 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that takes a look at what the Fellowship did before reaching Caras Galadon... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.

From Lothlórien: The Fellowship of the Ring

... "Frodo lay for some time awake, and looked up at the stars glinting through the pale roof of quivering leaves. Sam was snoring at his side long before he himself closed his eyes. He could dimly see the grey forms of two elves sitting motionless with their arms about their knees, speaking in whispers... ...Frodo fell asleep with the song of Legolas running in his mind. ... Late in the night he woke. The other hobbits were asleep. The Elves were gone... ...he heard a harsh laugh and the tread of many feet on the ground below... ...The sounds died slowly away, and seemed to go southward, on into the wood. ... A head appeared suddenly through the hole in the flet. Frodo sat up in alarm and saw that it was a grey-hooded Elf. He looked towards the hobbits. ...'What is it?' said Frodo. ...'Yrch!' said the Elf in a hissing whisper, and cast on to the flet the rope-ladder rolled up... ......Frodo sat and shivered in his wraps. He was thankful that they had not been caught on the ground; but he felt that the trees offered little protection, except concealment... ...He drew out Sting: it flashed and glittered like a blue flame; and then slowly faded again and grew dull. In spite of the fading of his sword the feeling of immediate danger did not leave Frodo, rather it grew stronger. He got up and crawled to the opening and peered down... ...he could hear stealthy movements at the tree's foot far below. ... Not Elves... ...noiseless in their movements. Then he heard faintly a sound like sniffing... ...something seemed to be scrabbling on the bark of the tree-trunk. He stared down into the dark, holding his breath. ... Something was now climbing slowly, and its breath came like a soft hissing through closed teeth... ...Frodo saw two pale eyes. They stopped and gazed upward unwinking. Suddenly they turned away, and a shadowy figure slipped round the trunk of the tree and vanished. ... Immediately afterwards Haldir came climbing swiftly up through the branches. 'There was something in this tree that I have never seen before... ...It was not an orc. It fled as soon as I touched the tree-stem. It seemed to be wary, and to have some skill in trees, or I might have thought that it was one of you hobbits. ... 'I did not shoot, for I dared not arouse any cries... ...A strong company of Orcs has passed. They crossed the Nimrodel—curse their foul feet in its clean water!—and went on down the old road... ...They seemed to pick up some scent, and they searched the ground for a while near the place where you halted. The three of us could not challenge a hundred, so we went ahead and spoke with feigned voices, leading them on into the wood. ...'Orophin has now gone in haste back to our dwellings to warn our people. None of the Orcs will ever return out of Lórien... ...there will be many Elves hidden on the northern border before another night falls. But you must take the road south as soon as it is fully light.'"

Here is part 3 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that looks at what the Fellowship did before reaching Caras Galadon... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.

From Lothlórien: The Fellowship of the Ring

..."'Alas for the folly of these days!' said Legolas. 'Here all are enemies of the one Enemy, and yet I must walk blind while the sun is merry in the woodland under leaves of gold!'... 'Folly it may seem,' said Haldir. 'Indeed in nothing is the power of the Dark Lord more clearly shown that in the estrangement that divides all those who still oppose him... ...so little faith and trust do we find now in the world beyond Lothlórien, unless maybe in Rivendell, that we dare not by our own trust endanger our land. We live now upon an island amid many perils, and our hands are more often upon the bowstring than upon the harp...'... '...the Shadow has crept northward all about us. Some speak of departing, yet for that it already seems too late... ...Even if we could come to the shores of the Sea, we should find no longer any shelter there. It is said that there are still havens of the High Elves, but they are far north and west, beyond the land of the Halflings... ...where that may be, though the Lord and Lady may know, I do not.'... 'You ought at least to guess, since you have seen us,' said Merry. 'There are Elf-havens west of my land, the Shire, where Hobbits live.'... 'Happy folk are Hobbits to dwell near the shores of the sea!' said Haldir... '...Tell me of these havens as we walk.' ... 'I cannot,' said Merry. 'I have never seen them. I have never been out of my own land before... ...if I had known what the world outside was like, I don't think I should have had the heart to leave it.' ... 'Not even to see fair Lothlórien?' said Haldir. 'The world is indeed full of peril... ...in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.... 'Some there are among us who sing that the Shadow will draw back, and peace shall come again. Yet I do not believe that the world about us will ever again be as it was of old... ...For the Elves, I fear, it will prove at best a truce, in which they may pass to the Sea unhindered and leave the Middle-earth for ever. Alas for Lothlórien that I love! It would be a poor life in a land where no mallorn grew...'... ...the company filed slowly along the paths in the wood, led by Haldir... ...They felt the ground beneath their feet smooth and soft... ...they walked more freely, without fear of hurt or fall. Being deprived of sight, Frodo found his hearing and other senses sharpened. He could smell the trees and the trodden grass. He could hear many different notes in the rustle of the leaves overhead, the river murmuring... ...and the thin clear voices of birds in the sky. He felt the sun upon his face and hands when they passed through an open glade.... As soon as he set foot upon the far banks of Silverlode a strange feeling had come upon him, and it deepened as he walked on into the Naith: it seemed to him that he had stepped over a bridge of time into a corner of the Elder Days... ...now walking in a world that was no more. In Rivendell there was memory of ancient things; in Lórien the ancient things still lived on in the waking world. Evil had been seen and heard there, sorrow had been known... ...elves feared and distrusted the world outside: wolves were howling on the wood's borders: but on the land of Lórien no shadow lay."

... Not Elves... ...noiseless in their movements. Then he heard faintly a sound like sniffing... ...something seemed to be scrabbling on the bark of the tree-trunk. He stared down into the dark, holding his breath. ... Something was now climbing slowly, and its breath came like a soft hissing through closed teeth... ...Frodo saw two pale eyes. They stopped and gazed upward unwinking. Suddenly they turned away, and a shadowy figure slipped round the trunk of the tree and vanished.

When I think of LOTR, I tend to think of heroic moments and magical places. Your post is a good reminder of the creepy, scary parts: the Black Riders sniffing on the ground in the Shire, the Barrow-wight episode, and this pursuit first through Moria and now to their tree of refuge by a crafty, twisted creature. Gollum is what you fear is under your bed when you're a little kid: something part "human", part monster, and infused with malice and violent intent. Don't read this part to your kids at bedtime!

Here is part 4 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that looks at what the Fellowship did before reaching Caras Galadon... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.

From Lothlórien: The Fellowship of the Ring

... "All that day the Company marched on, until they felt the cool evening come... ...Then they rested and slept without fear upon the ground; for their guides would not permit them to unbind their eyes, and they could not climb. In the morning they went on... ...walking without haste. At noon they halted... ...Frodo was aware that they had passed out under the shining Sun. Suddenly he heard the sound of many voices all around him....A marching host of Elves had come up silently... ...hastening toward the northern borders to guard against any attack from Moria; and they brought news... ...The marauding orcs had been waylaid and almost all destroyed; the remnant had fled westward towards the mountains, and were being pursued. A strange creature also had been seen, running with bent back and with hands near the ground, like a beast and yet not of beast-shape. It had eluded capture... ...they had not shot it, not knowing whether it was good or ill, and it had vanished down the Silverlode southward. ...'Also,' said Haldir, 'they bring me a message from the Lord and Lady of the Galadrim. You are all to walk free, even the dwarf Gimli... ...the Lady knows who and what is each member of your Company. New messages have come from Rivendell perhaps.'... He removed the bandage first from Gimli's eyes. 'Your pardon!' he said, bowing low. 'Look on us now with friendly eyes! Look and be glad... ...you are the first dwarf to behold the trees of the Naith of Lórien since Durin's Day!'... When his eyes were in turn uncovered, Frodo looked up and caught his breath. They were standing in an open space. To the left stood a great mound, covered with a sward of grass as green as spring-time in the Elder days. Upon it, as a double crown, grew two circles of trees: the outer had bark of snowy white... ... leafless but beautiful in their shapely nakedness; the inner were mallorn-trees of great height, still arrayed in pale gold. High amid the branches of a towering tree that stood in the centre of all there gleamed a white flet. At the feet of the trees, and... ...the green hillsides, the grass was studded with small golden flowers shaped like stars. Among them, nodding on slender stalks, were other flowers white and palest green... ...glimmering as a mist amid the rich hue of the grass. Over all the sky was blue, and the sun of afternoon glowed upon the hill and cast long green shadows beneath the trees....'Behold! You are come to Cerin Amroth... ...For this is the heart of the ancient realm as it was long ago, and here is the mound of Amroth, where in happier days his high house was built. Here ever bloom the winter flowers in the unfading grass: the yellow elanor, and the pale niphredil. Here we will stay awhile, and come to the city of the Galadrim at dusk.'"

NOTE: We have another break in TIME next week. I'm going to continue this thread of BS beginning January 27.

January 22, 3019 (S.R. 1419) 1. The Fellowship rests in Lothlórien. (not from the appendices)..."They remained some days in Lothlórien, so far as they could tell or remember.... ...The air was cool and soft, as if it were early spring, yet they felt about them the deep and thoughtful quiet of winter. It seemed to them that they did little but eat and drink and rest, and walk among the trees; and it was enough. ...They had not seen the Lord and Lady again, and they had little speech with any of the Elven-folk; for few of these spoke any but their own silvan tongue. Haldir had... ...gone back again to the fences of the North, where great watch was now kept since the tidings of Moria that the Company had brought. Legolas was away much among the Galadrim, and after the first night he did not sleep with the other companions, though he returned to eat and talk with them. Often he took Gimli with him when he went abroad in the land, and the others wondered at this change."

2. Gandalf battles the Balrog. (from the appendices)..."''Long time I fell... ...Long I fell, and he fell with me. His fire was about me. I was burned. Then we plunged into the deep water and all was dark. Cold it was as the tide of death: almost it froze my heart... ...it has a bottom, beyond light and knowledge,' said Gandalf. 'Thither I came at last, to the uttermost foundations of stone. He was with me still. His fire was quenched, but now he was a thing of slime, stronger than a strangling snake. ...'We fought far under the living earth, where time is not counted. Ever he clutched me, and ever I hewed him, till at last he fled into dark tunnels. They were not made by Durin's folk... ...Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he. Now I have walked there, but I will bring no report to darken the light of day. In that despair my enemy was my only hope, and I pursued him, clutching at his heel....""

I love this story and how he tells it! I wish it went on for a chapter or two, I enjoy it so much. And it would make a good movie of its own, or a good 1-hour TV episode. There's so much he's deliberately leaving out that of course I want him to fill in. Thanks for posting this passage. (I like the Lorien one too, especially the winter that feels like spring, but that's about healing, and fighting Balrogs is more exciting.)

In Reply To

..."''Long time I fell... ...Long I fell, and he fell with me. His fire was about me. I was burned. Then we plunged into the deep water and all was dark. Cold it was as the tide of death: almost it froze my heart... ...it has a bottom, beyond light and knowledge,' said Gandalf. 'Thither I came at last, to the uttermost foundations of stone. He was with me still. His fire was quenched, but now he was a thing of slime, stronger than a strangling snake. ...'We fought far under the living earth, where time is not counted. Ever he clutched me, and ever I hewed him, till at last he fled into dark tunnels. They were not made by Durin's folk... ...Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he. Now I have walked there, but I will bring no report to darken the light of day. In that despair my enemy was my only hope, and I pursued him, clutching at his heel....""

January 23, 3019 (S.R. 1419) 1. Gandalf and the Balrog reach the peak of Zirak-zigil. (not from the appendices)..."'Thus he brought me back at last to the secret ways of Khazad-dûm: too well he knew them all. Ever up now we went, until we came to the Endless Stair... ...it had not been destroyed,' said Gandalf. 'From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak it climbed, ascending in unbroken spiral in many thousand steps, until it issued at last in Durin's Tower carved in the living rock of Zirak-zigil, the pinnacle of the Silvertine.'"

January 24, 3020 (S.R. 1420) 1. Hobbiton is busy healing the hurts of Saruman. (not from the appendices)..."Sam stayed at first at the Cottons' with Frodo; but when the New Row was ready he went with the Gaffer. In addition to all his other labours he was busy directing the cleaning up and restoring of Bag End..."

But I have just been re-reading thiis bit and nowadays the more I read it, the more I do have sympathy with Boromir as a character. I don't know if it is me getting more cynical in my old age or just a bit of world experience, but I think sometimes, someone has to say, 'Ok, so just how do we get around this large, snowy mountain then?'

January 25, 3019 (S.R. 1419) 1. Gandalf casts the Balrog from the mountain, but passes away afterwards. His body lies on the peak. (from the appendices)..."'There upon Celebdil was a lonely window in the snow and before it lay a narrow space, a dizzy eyrie above the mists of the world... ...Out he sprang, and even as I came behind, he burst into new flame. There was none to see, or perhaps in after ages songs would still be sung of the Battle of the Peak.' Suddenly Gandalf laughed. 'But what would they say in song? Those that looked up from afar thought that the mountain was crowned with storm. Thunder they heard, and lightening... ...smote upon Celebdil, and leaped back broken into tongues of fire.... ...A great smoke rose about us, vapour and steam. Ice fell like rain. I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin. Then darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads that I will not tell...'"

[Gandalf does not return to "life" for 20 days. This part of the story continues on February 14.]

I've experienced the same thing that you're describing. I started reading LotR when I was 19yo, and the same events will have a deeper or new meaning as my many winters passed by to nearly 68yo. I agree, it's life experience and seeing things in a different light. Even cynical can lead to broader sympathy. :) *high five*

I had a mild dislike for Boromir on first read and didn't care much when he died, but I think after re-reads plus the movies, I've come to sympathize with him more. What in the past seemed like an obnoxious, contrary attitude has come to seem more like legitimate questioning of authority.

Today in Middle-earth January 26, 3019 (S.R. 1419) 1. The Fellowship rests in Lothlórien. [Having defeated the Balrog, Gandalf's body lies on the snowy peak of Celebdil] (not from the appendices)..."Now as the companions sat or walked together they spoke of Gandalf, and all that each had known and seen of him came clear before their minds. As they were healed of hurt and weariness of body the grief of the loss grew more keen. Often they heard nearby Elvish voices singing, and knew that they were making songs of lamentation... ...for they caught his name among the sweet sad words that they could not understand. ...Mithrandir, Mithrandir sang the Elves, O Pilgrim Grey! For so they loved to call him. But if Legolas was with the Company, he would not interpret the songs for them, saying that he had not the skill, and that for him the grief was still too near, a matter for tears and not yet for song."

Lament for Gandalf (featured in Lothlórien) (Solo by Elizabeth Fraser)

(Sindarin text) 'The bonds cut, the spirit broken The Flame of Anor has left this World'

Mithrandir, Mithrandir, O Pilgrim Grey! No more will you wander the world green. Your journey in darkness stopped.'

(Quenya text) 'Undying [is] our regret, [it] will be what will be [or 'What should be shall be'] Undying [is] our regret and yet we will cast all away, [It] will be what will be, love for this land [is] our regret.'

Lothlórien (performed by Elizabeth Frazer)

A Olórin i yaresse… (Olórin who once was…) Mentaner i Numeherui (Sent by the Lords of the West) Tírien i Rómenóri… (To guard the Lands of the East…) Maiaron i Oiosaila, (Wisest of all Maiar,) Manan elye etevanne (What drove you to leave) Nórie i malanelye? (That which you loved?) Ú-reniathach (No more will you wander) I amar galen (The green fields of this earth) I reniad lín ne môr, nuithannen (Your journey has ended in darkness.) In gwidh ristennin, (the bonds are sundered,) i fae narchannen (the spirit is broken) I Lach Anor ed ardhon gwennen. (The flame of Anor has left this world.) Calad veleg, ethuiannen. (A great light, has gone out.)

(Choir text)

Melme nóren sina (Our love for this land) núra ala (Is deeper that the deeps) Eäro. (of the sea) Ilfirin nairelma (Our regret is undying) ullume nucuvalme. (Yet we will cast all away, rather than submit) Nauva i nauva... (What should be shall be.)

[From Magpie's Nest: Credit for these lyrics and notes goes to TheOneRing.net; Language in The Lord of the Rings Movie by Galadhorn – elvish.org which is linked through TheOneRing.net; an article in Music from the Movies, number 42; Warner Brothers sheet music; Lord of the Rings Soundtrack inserts]

Boromir in FotR definitely brought his character to life for me. Starting with the Watcher in the Water fight; but expecially during his wonderful conversation with Aragorn in Lothlórien. It captures me every time. His death and moment with Aragorn at his death still makes me cry *tearing*

Yes, that conversation he has in Lorien did a lot to humanize him too, as well as show the bond between them, making his death scene all the more gut-wrenching. I can forgive the movies for their, IMO, inferior treatment of Faramir, when I think of their superior treatment of Boromir.

Here is 1 of 4 Book Spoilers that takes a look at the Fellowship as they come to Caras Galadon... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.

From The Mirror of Galadriel: The Fellowship of the Ring

..."'Welcome to Caras Galadon!' [Haldir] said. 'Here is the city of the Galadrim where dwell the Lord Celeborn and Galadriel the Lady of Lórien. But we cannot enter here, for the gates do not look northward. We must go round to the southern side... ...the way is not short, for the city is great.'... There was a road paved with white stone running on the outer brink of the fosse. Along this they went westward, with the city ever climbing up like a green cloud upon their left... ...as the night deepened more lights sprang forth, until all the hill seemed afire with stars. They came at last to a white bridge, and crossing found the great gates of the city... ...set between the ends of the encircling wall that here overlapped, and they were tall and strong, and hung with many lamps.... Haldir knocked and spoke, and the gates opened soundlessly... ...of guards Frodo could se no sign. The travellers passed within, and the gates shut behind them. They were in a deep lane... ...and passing quickly through it they entered the City of the Trees. No folk could they see... ...but there were many voices, about them, and in the air above. Far away up on the hill they could hear the sound of singing falling from on high like soft rain upon leaves.... They went along many paths and climbed many stairs... ...they came to the high places and saw before them amid a wide lawn a fountain shimmering. It was lit by silver lamps that swung from the boughs of trees, and it fell into a basin of silver, from which a white stream spilled. Upon the south side of the lawn there stood the mightiest of all the trees; its great smooth bole gleamed like grey silk, and up it towered, until its first branches... ...opened their huge limbs under shadowy clouds of leaves. Beside it a broad white ladder stood, and at its foot three Elves were seated. They sprang up as the travellers approached, and Frodo saw that they were tall and clad in grey mail... ...from their shoulders hung long white cloaks..........One of the Elf-wardens then blew a clear note on a small horn, and it was answered three times from far above."[[continues on January 29, 2019]]

Was your view of Boromir changed at all by movie Denethor?
[In reply to]

Can't Post

My first reading of LOTR was back in 1977, so I can’t say my memory is perfect. I didn’t like book Boromir, and I can’t even remember thinking anything about Denethor. I know I was caught up more in what was happening to Frodo and Sam, so probably didn’t give them much thought. But movie Denethor struck me as very much not in the right mind. And I think that softened my perception of book Boromir to have had to handle a father like that.